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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503083">Rock Candy Passion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/windwhisper/pseuds/windwhisper'>windwhisper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dancing in the moonlight [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic - Fandom, Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dancing, F/M, Light-Hearted, Love Confessions, Romance, this one's kinda cheesy but i've been told it's cute</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:08:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503083</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/windwhisper/pseuds/windwhisper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The last item, though - a shimmering card without an envelope attached - caught her eye just as she was finally taking a seat at the table. "Oh, Sonic, what's that?"</p><p>Or; Sonic and Amy attend a gala.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amy Rose/Sonic the Hedgehog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dancing in the moonlight [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rock Candy Passion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21107750">Waltz Of The Wind</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/R0wan_Jacobs/pseuds/R0wan_Jacobs">R0wan_Jacobs</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This isn't really my usual style - but what can I say? I wanted to mix things up a bit, and I was inspired - as you can probably tell by the fact that I've had to figure out how the 'Inspired By' thing works. I hope I used it correctly.</p><p>What I set out to do here was tell a story about something soft and sweet and not at all sad. It was a personal challenge, to keep it from veering off of that road, but I'd like to think I did pretty well.</p><p>The title comes from the very first line of Owl City's The Yacht Club, another overall inspiration of this fic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amy hummed softly to herself as she set the tray of cinnamon rolls on the table. There wasn't any sort of special occasion, she'd just wanted to surprise her friends with something sweet.</p><p>Nearby, Sonic was sorting through the mail. Things meant for Tails were placed on the left side of the table, things addressed to himself on the right. </p><p>The last item, though - a shimmering card without an envelope attached - caught her eye just as she was finally taking a seat at the table. "Oh, Sonic, what's that?"</p><p>He shrugged, lifting up the card to inspect it closely. "'You are cordially invited'… Eh, it's just an invitation to some dance. Nothing special."</p><p>"A dance?" she asked, and he slid the card across the table while reaching for one of the cinnamon rolls.</p><p>She looked down at the elegant gold script against the royal blue of the card's background, admiring how it caught the light. "'Sonic the Hedgehog,'" she read aloud, "'you are cordially invited to the seventh annual Starlight Gala in one week's time. We hope to see you there.'"</p><p>He grinned over at her, waving his half-eaten cinnamon bun dismissively. "See? It’s just some boring dance."</p><p>It didn't sound boring at all to her. Amy had dreamed about attending a ball for years, all dressed up like a princess - maybe it was just her tendency to be a hopeless romantic, or a few too many fairytale movies, but that exact scenario was a common setting for her dreams both awake and asleep. </p><p>"Actually, it sounds pretty nice," she sighed wistfully. "I've always wanted to go to a gala."</p><p>"I guess some people might have fun with it,” Sonic shrugged. “You know me, though - rich people parties aren't really my scene. If you want to go, you can just take the invitation."</p><p>She laughed, sliding it back toward him. "That's not how it works, Sonic. It has <em>your</em> name on it, not mine."</p><p>"It works like that in the movies," he protested.</p><p>"Yeah, <em> in the movies</em>."</p><p>“How would I know? I’ve never been to one of these. At least, not that I can remember.” Slowly, he narrowed his eyes at the card before glancing over at her with a thoughtful expression. "...Do you, uh - do you really want to go?"</p><p>She nodded. "Yeah. Doesn't it seem like fun? Everyone all dressed up and dancing, it’s almost like something out of a fairytale..."</p><p>"Again: not really my thing," he shrugged, though for whatever reason he didn’t meet her eyes. "Still, if <em> you </em> want to go, I guess I can make an exception. Just this once."</p><p>Her eyes widened, and she tilted her head slightly as she squinted at him, as if doubting that this was indeed the real Sonic. “...Really?”</p><p>He hesitated for just a moment before answering. “Sure thing, Ames. Anything for a friend, right?”</p><p>Her face lit up instantly, and she almost leapt over the table to hug him in her enthusiasm - instead, she settled for moving around it at something resembling… Well, <em>sonic speed</em>. "Oh, Sonic! Thank you!"</p><p>"Whoa, hey, careful," he cautioned, hands falling to her side to keep her steady as if on impulse. "One of these days you're gonna break something."</p><p>"Sorry, sorry! I'm just- so excited," she exclaimed, letting go almost as quickly as she'd latched onto him, leaving him there with a faint blush on his face.</p><p>Of course, that was the moment Tails chose to return from his workshop. "I heard Amy shout, but the equipment was too loud and I couldn’t actually hear anything… Did anything happen that I should be worried about?" He grinned at Sonic in the way only a particularly impish little brother could manage. “Or maybe something that I should <em>congratulate</em> you on?”</p><p>“No,” Sonic replied flatly. “Nothing happened, Tails - I just agreed to go with her to some fancy party.”</p><p>“That kinda sounds like a-” </p><p>Sonic slapped his hand over Tails’ mouth, who shot him a deeply offended look before licking his glove. Immediately, the blue hedgehog let go, shaking his hand repeatedly. “Gross.”</p><p>Tails simply stuck his tongue out at his older brother before finally catching sight of the cinnamon rolls. “Ooh! Can I have one?”</p><p>“They’re for both of you,” Amy assured him. “For letting me hang around here so often.”</p><p>“Well, <em> someone’s </em> gotta keep you out of trouble,” Sonic teased. “You’re pretty good at finding your way into it, though, I’ll give you that.”</p><p>“Not nearly as good as you,” she shot back. “Prove it. Name <em> one </em>time.”</p><p>“Little Planet,” he replied without missing a beat.</p><p>“We were kids, that doesn’t count! Meanwhile, you go <em> looking </em> for trouble.”</p><p>“But you’re right behind me whenever I do,” he pointed out, winking at her.</p><p>She blushed, looking away. “I- you <em> know </em> I’d follow you anywhere, Sonic, that’s not fair! And someone has to keep you safe, since you obviously can’t do it yourself - so it falls to the rest of us, who actually <em> have </em> a sense of self-preservation.”</p><p>“I’ll believe <em> that </em> when I see it."</p><p>Slowly, in such a way that neither of the playfully quarreling hedgehogs noticed, Tails edged out of the room and left them to themselves. As long as they weren’t <em> actually </em> upset with one another, there was nothing to worry about.</p>
<hr/><p>“Nope, that’s not cutting it. Next one!”</p><p>Amy took a deep breath. This was the twelfth dress she’d tried on, but no matter her own opinions the response was always the same. She loved having Rouge as a friend, really, and there was a reason she’d come to her for help finding the perfect outfit - but she was starting to forget what that reason was.</p><p>“Can’t I just - I don’t know, borrow one of yours? You totally have a secret collection of fancy dresses, don’t you?”</p><p>“One, it’s not a secret. Two, none of my clothes would <em> fit </em> you.”</p><p>Amy sighed. It had been worth a shot, at least. “Why can’t we just pick one and get it over with?”</p><p>“You’ve wanted to go to a dance like this your entire life, and now you have the chance to do so with the person you’re head over heels in love with,” Rouge reminded her, crossing her arms with a pointed look. “Do you really want to <em> settle </em> ? The Amy <em> I </em> know wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect, and <em> that </em> is why I’m here.”</p><p>And there it was. She <em> did </em> want things to be perfect. But she knew almost nothing about high society that hadn’t come from movies, so she’d fallen back on the one friend she knew to have experience with the subject. Well, it was more like she’d made an educated guess that turned out to be right, but still. “It’s just... We’ve been here for four hours. It’s exhausting!”</p><p>“Perfection takes time, honey, you can’t rush it. Try this one,” the bat instructed, tossing a dress in her general direction. “You know, this is usually the <em> fun </em> part of parties like this. The actual event is secondary.”</p><p>“Maybe for you, but so far this is my least favorite part.” After this, there was silence from the dressing room, and then, quietly: “...Help.”</p><p>“If you can’t even get it on, then that’s going to be a no. Next one,” she called, tossing it over the door.</p><p>Another two hours passed in a blur of dresses and critiques, each one shot down for some reason or another, before she finally emerged from the dressing room and <em> wasn't </em>immediately sent back in.</p><p>"That's the one," Rouge nodded approvingly.</p><p>It was blue, a sort of pale pastel, and it shimmered in the light. It looked like something lifted right out of a storybook, and it almost made her feel like royalty as she looked in the mirror.</p><p>It was perfect. </p>
<hr/><p>She stared into the mirror, adjusting her dress for the thousandth time. Then she returned to adjusting her quills, and then fiddling with her wristbands. Her makeup was done, so she tried to avoid touching her face, but it was hard to ignore the nervous energy running through her veins.</p><p>Then the door sounded, and she jumped. It was still so early, Sonic wasn't supposed to be here until six - she looked at the clock to confirm, only to realize it was already five fifty-five.</p><p>She made her way to the door, trusting who she'd see on the other side before taking in the sight. </p><p>She almost didn't recognize him at first, between the tie and the suit and the nervous smile on his face. It wasn't an expression she was used to seeing, the absence of his characteristic confidence. </p><p>"Sonic!" she greeted, suddenly realizing she'd been staring at him for almost a solid minute. At least he hadn't said anything. "You're early… Why is that?"</p><p>"No reason in particular," he said, too quickly for her to really believe it. "You look great, by the way. But now that we’re both here, let's get going. Don't want to be late, right?"</p><p>"Right! Let's go.” Whatever it was couldn’t be too important if he didn’t want to talk about it, so she wasn’t going to push the issue. For now, she was just grateful that they didn’t have to worry about traffic.</p><p>The trip to the venue was a bit of a blur, literally as well as figuratively. Sonic's speed sometimes made it hard to admire their surroundings, admittedly, but they arrived at their destination much faster than they would have otherwise.</p><p>The building was old, with tall windows and large doors, as close to a castle as a building in the middle of a bustling city could hope to be. Suddenly, without setting foot inside, she felt rather out of place.</p><p>And then Sonic held out his hand, and everything was fine as he led them both inside. It was an unexpected gesture, but one she appreciated. </p><p>"Let's do this," she said, determined to make the most of the night.</p><p>"Right," Sonic nodded, holding up the invitation. "So… <em> How </em> do we do this?"</p><p>"I think they'll maybe ask to see the invitation?"</p><p>They reached the bottom of a spiral staircase, and sure enough were asked to present their names and invitation. They did so, and were waved through.</p><p>It was a spectacle. There wasn’t really another word for it: it was beautiful for the sake of being beautiful, everything sparkling under the lights. </p><p>People wandered about in extravagant dresses and suits, and she exchanged a glance with Sonic. While they were both dressed nicely, they couldn’t even begin to approach quite the level of fashion that surrounded them. She wasn’t sure how these people managed to walk in clothes like that.</p><p>But the clothes didn’t matter all that much, anyway. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone else, just Sonic. So long as he saw her, she was happy.</p><p>They stood in silence for a few short moments before Sonic nudged her shoulder, teasing. “Having fun yet?”</p><p>“You know… I’m not sure,” she hummed playfully, tugging on his hand. “Maybe a dance would liven things up a bit?”</p><p>“No one’s dancing yet - they’re all just talking,” he noted, gesturing around them. He must have noticed her disappointed expression, though. “You’ll get your dance, you just have to be patient.”</p><p>“Sonic the Hedgehog, telling someone else to wait? Now I know I’ve seen it all. Are you <em> sure </em> you’re Sonic?” she asked, leaning in to examine his face as she feigned concern. “Next you’ll be telling me you want to go swimming.”</p><p>He shuddered visibly at that, and she laughed. “I know they say there’s a first time for everything, Amy, but I wouldn’t advise getting your hopes up on that one.”</p><p>There wasn’t much to do just yet, it seemed, but he didn’t complain. Instead he walked around the room with her, playfully mocking the people around them as much as he could without them noticing.</p><p>“That guy kinda looks like Shadow,” she noted. “Don’t you think?”</p><p>“Yeah, but Shadow wouldn’t be caught dead at a party like this,” Sonic snorted a laugh. “Can you imagine?”</p><p>She was about to respond when something caught her eye. “...Wait. I think that <em> is </em> Shadow. Look, there’s Rouge.”</p><p>Sure enough, Rouge was gliding across the ballroom to Shadow’s side, her own dress just as extravagant as any of the others on display. The light reflected on the jewels she wore, and it almost hurt to look directly at her.</p><p>“Huh. Wonder what they’re here for.”</p><p>“I’m going to go say hi,” Amy decided. “Are you coming?”</p><p>“And give Shadow the chance to make fun of my suit? Sorry, but I’ll pass. I’ll go get us some water instead, if that’s okay?”</p><p>“Okay,” she began, though she never got to finish the sentence. As soon as she said the word, he was gone.</p><p>She made her way toward Rouge, and the hedgehog who was more and more unmistakably Shadow the closer she got, with a smile. “Rouge! I didn’t know you were going to be here too.”</p><p>“Oh, Amy! It was a last minute change of plans. Where’s blue, though, isn’t he supposed to be with you? Don’t tell me he ditched you.”</p><p>She thought she heard Shadow mutter something along the lines of ‘<em>just my luck</em>’, but chose to ignore it. “Oh, no! Nothing like that. He went to get water, so I came over here when I saw you two. But I never thought you’d be the kind of guy to like formal events like this, Shadow.”</p><p>“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only here to make sure <em> she</em>,” Shadow gestured to Rouge, “doesn’t get carried away. Speaking of which... Rouge, we should go.”</p><p>“Oh, if you insist,” Rouge sighed, following after him with a wave back in Amy’s direction.</p><p>She wandered around the room for a while after that, looking for familiar faces or just conversation, but it felt like she was invisible. She didn’t recognize anyone here, no one approached her, and she’d lost sight of Sonic a while ago.</p><p>A handful of people had started to dance, but it wasn’t at all what she’d expected or hoped to see. Elaborate dances with several steps, performed without flaws or heart. Wasn’t dancing supposed to be a form of art?</p><p>She turned and walked away, making her way to one of the windows in a part of the ballroom that was almost empty. From this high up, the view was bound to be beautiful.</p><p>"Not having as much fun as you'd hoped?" Sonic asked, appearing seeming from nowhere to join her at the window, setting down two glasses of water. "Sorry, I got held up by a couple of business guys."</p><p>"It doesn’t matter. This whole thing was a waste of time," she sighed, shaking her head. Outside, the view of the city was nice, but she couldn't bring herself to appreciate it. "I'm sorry, Sonic."</p><p>He followed her gaze out over the city, leaning against the windowsill. "Listen," he spoke carefully, resting his hand over hers. "You wanted to have a good time. It's not your fault the party's boring."</p><p>"I wasted your time and mine," she shot back, turning to face him. He looked so out of place, standing there in a suit and trying his best to keep still. "It's not fair to you, Sonic, you don't even want to be here."</p><p>"Neither do you, now," he met her eyes, his expression betraying his own amusement. "So, we’re not having fun. Let's just go somewhere else. C'mon," he added, not waiting for an answer before taking her hand to pull her along. </p><p>She laughed as they raced out of the ballroom, finding that she couldn't quite stop herself. He was always so charming, in his own way. "Sonic!"</p><p>As they slipped out of the building, he swept her up into his arms, careful not to damage her dress in the process. "Sorry, Amy - at least this will be a short trip."</p><p>Of all her thoughts, the only thing she managed to say out loud was, "Why are you apologizing?"</p><p>She chose to count her blessings when he didn’t respond, and before long they came to a stop - the only indication, for a moment, was that the world stopped spinning. Gently, Sonic set her on her feet, gesturing around them as he spoke:</p><p>"Well, here we are."</p><p>She looked around: this place was a meadow in the middle of a grove, filled with lovely flowers; bordered on one side by a gorgeous waterfall. Above, every star in the night sky shone brightly, and below fireflies glittered all around them.</p><p>"What is this place?"</p><p>Sonic grinned at her. "It doesn't have a name. It's pretty remote, so people don't come out here much."</p><p>"It's beautiful…"</p><p>He looked around thoughtfully, considering the statement, before his gaze settled on her once more with a softer smile. "Yeah, it is."</p><p>She felt her face flush. He couldn’t have meant that the way she thought. "So you've been here before?"</p><p>"Yeah. I thought you'd like to see it - that maybe we could still salvage part of tonight. Listen, Amy…"</p><p>"I'm listening."</p><p>"You, uh - you mentioned earlier that you wanted to dance, right?" She nodded slowly, unsure of what he was getting at exactly, and he held out his hand with a sheepish smile. "Well, if you still want to…"</p><p>She took his hand, laughing quietly. “I’d love to.”</p><p>Their dance was awkward, unpracticed and off-balance, but they grinned at one another as they spun around the meadow - and then they laughed openly, abandoning any idea of grace and simply going with the flow.</p><p>The stars shone down on them, fireflies dancing all across the meadow; the softly howling wind and the sound of rushing water the only music that surrounded them.</p><p>Breathlessly, she tackled him to the soft grass, arms wound tightly around his neck. With her face less than an inch away from his, she whispered, "Hey."</p><p>"Hey, yourself."</p><p>"That was…" she paused, as much to catch her breath as to articulate her thoughts. "So much better than any stupid party."</p><p>"Oh, really?" he asked, grinning up at her and gently tucking a single lavender-colored flower behind her ear. “Glad you liked it.”</p><p>“I love everything you do,” she laughed. “Enough that I know it makes me kind of stupid, sometimes. Thanks for keeping me around.”</p><p>“You’re passionate, not stupid - don’t sell yourself short. And yeah, sometimes it can be a little much… But we’ve got a good thing going here, and you already <em> know </em> that you’re one of my best friends.”</p><p>She hummed quietly in response to that, and there was silence - but only for a few short moments. “Sometimes I wish it could always be like this,” she admitted. “Just... I don’t really want it to end.”</p><p>“Where’s the fun in that? If everything stays the same, it all gets boring after a while,” Sonic pointed out, rolling over on the grass so their positions were suddenly reversed and he was grinning down at her. “One thing has to end for another to start. You’ve gotta be open to change.”</p><p>She could only stare up at him with a small smile, even as he brushed a stray tuft of fur out of her face. He wanted to make a point, clearly, and she was honestly pretty curious about what it was he was leading up to, if anything at all.</p><p>“Like this,” he continued, and before she could say a word he had swiftly closed the distance between them with a kiss. After a moment, he pulled back and stared at her with an expression she couldn’t quite comprehend. “I, uh - was that okay?”</p><p>Finding that words failed her in that moment, she could only nod silently.</p><p>“Okay,” he breathed a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t sure - I thought I was maybe reading things wrong?”</p><p>At this point, she found her words again. “Sonic,” she murmured, voice laced with obvious affection as well as barely restrained laughter. “Are you honestly telling me you found me saying to your face that <em> I love everything you do </em> to be <em> ambiguous</em>, somehow?”</p><p>He could only grin sheepishly at her. “I, uh... It’s hard to tell when you’re serious, sometimes. You say that sort of thing a lot.”</p><p>“Because it’s true,” she said simply. As far as she was concerned, it really was as simple as that. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. But you were saying?”</p><p>“I think I like you,” he muttered, pointedly looking anywhere that wasn’t her face.</p><p>Oh, she just couldn’t resist - he’d just dropped the perfect opportunity in her lap, and there was never going to be another chance to tease him like this. “You know, Sonic, I like you too. That’s kind of why we’re friends.”</p><p>“You know what I mean!”</p><p>“I know,” she laughed, shoving him off of her so they were laying side by side on the grass and turning to face him. “So what happens now? What changes?”</p><p>“Eh, we can figure that part out together.” He paused. “I mean… If you want to.”</p><p>She reached over to hold his hand, smile brighter than the stars. “What do you think?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Everything about this fic feels strange to me, but it was fun to write and piece together. It's just so different from the sorts of things I usually do that the process threw me for a loop over and over again. I've never been so inspired by someone else's work, and the continual effort to keep it as something different that can stand on its own was definitely an interesting experience - the only works I'm used to being inspired by are my own and sometimes the canon, and those I prefer to simply twist together and build off of.</p><p>I've never fought quite this hard to keep from being sad, either. But I think this is something that I needed to write, even if it was just to prove to myself that I could.</p><p>P.S.: Happy birthday, Nina! I know this is a little late, but I promised you I'd finish it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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